US: A Heavy Heart

A study two American universities have conducted has revealed that there have never been as many criminals proven innocent after being wrongfully convicted in the United States as in 2013. Out of 1,300 judicial errors properly rectified over a quarter century, 87 were in 2013, which is a record.

Contrary to popular belief, scientific advancement is only marginally responsible for this performance — DNA analysis has only helped clear up 20 percent of the cases. Two out of five times, it is the willingness of public authorities to reopen the cases that has allowed for establishing the truth and freeing the innocents.

We must note that in almost half — 46 percent — of the rulings reviewed in 2013, the work of the investigators was at least one the reasons for judicial error. False testimonies and the lack of reliability from eyewitnesses were equally to blame — in 56 percent and 38 percent of the cases respectively.

However, what is worse is that 95 percent of the time, a conviction is announced after the accused has pleaded guilty. In the American system, a suspect who is not certain of being able to prove innocence often prefers to plead guilty in order to receive a lesser punishment — and notably, to avoid the death penalty.

Despite that, in total, 143 of those sentenced to death had to be acquitted in the United States. In 2013, Reginald Griffin avoided his execution after 25 years in prison.

Numbers to reflect on, one might think: basically, but not in the way we imagine. The debate is back on among the 32 states that still have the death penalty in order to figure out how to execute those who are sentenced when the leading world power lacks the necessary substances for lethal injections — European manufacturers refuse to deliver them, and it seems that there is no local distributor. Therefore, they have been talking about reintroducing the electric chair and gas chamber, even the firing squad or hanging.

This perspective is objectively so frightening that more than actually seeing it materialize, those in favor of the death penalty dread strengthening the abolitionist ranks.